Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-04-29
Friday, April az, 1857.
LAMAR's %ELOQUENCE.

AT the celebration of the unwilling
Of the statue of Calhoun at Charleston,
South Carolina, Secretary Lamar
made the greatest speech Of his life In
reviewing the contrast Of relationship
between the federal and state govern.
ments In 1883 and 1861. After eulog-
ising Calhoun Mr.. La mar said: In
the early history OF our republic two
different powers were in the presence
Of each other-the principal of local
state sovereignty and that of national
union. Although both Of these pow
srs were to be found in the embryo of
our political system, they existed In
confusion and without precise legal
definition. each having claims to urge
and facts TO allege IN support OF its
respective pretention TO supremacy.
The principle OF state sovereignty was
the first brought into operation, and
therefore preceded the other in legal
rscognizatj on and actual predomin.
ance. Previous TO the Declaration OF
Independence the colonies were each
n distinct political community; each
had Its wi seperate political orgaDi-
cation. the legislation of which extern
ded on farther than its W territorial
limits. The only political bond which
held trem in political union was the
sovereignty of the British nation. =
Now, although the Declaration Of In
dependence aud the articles Of confed-
eratiIn and the constitution of the
United States were all based upon the
assumption Of the Independence and
sovereignty Of the several states, yet
in point of historical fact the iDhabi,
tants Of the American colonies, both
before and after Independence, were,
In many Important respects, n peo.
pie. These colonies, As one body po-
little, were d people ~ being:-uhject
10 their civil and social relations q the
common law of England; they were
n people respecting their rights rs
Englishmen, which to the honor of
England, were planted by their Grad
les In the infancy OF colonial existence;
they were u people in language, in
blood, in manners, and especially in
being subjected to a common oppres-
sion and thrilled by the intrinsic glory
OF n noble cause Tito u unity of Ameri-
can patriotism. =
After the adoption of the constitution,
the moral, social aud material forces
have always been more powerful In
moulding the Institutions, in deter
mining the destinies Of nations than
external legal forms, combined To in-
crease the power and magnify the im-
portance of the general government OF
the Union, at the expense of that OF
the general government Of the states.
When independence was first achiev.
ed the original states lay stretched
along the Atlantic coast, sparcely PEG.
pied, separated by ast wildernesses,
with no means of internal communi,
cation and trade, except by stages,
pack horses and sumpter mules on
land, aud flatboaIs, RATS and bateaux
on the water. since then, the loco.
motive and the steamboat not only
u~nnfkiIata di.tanpa knt liE. .pornn.
Gus shuttle-cocss, shoot across. the thou
sand various threads" of disconnected
sections, localities, interests, and in
~fiuences, and bind them into a web,
while the electric telegraph transmits
TO every part Of the country, at the
same moment, the same intelligence,
thus uniting the minds Of a vast popu.
lation In the same thought and emo.
ton. But a cause more potent than
any yet mentioned has operated to de.
termine the character and tendency OF
u political system. | refer to the &C.
QUESTION by the federal government,
Of the vast territory embraced In the
Louisiana purchase and that coded by
Spain and Mexico to the United
States. These territories far exceed
ing In area that Of the original th.r
teen states, belonged exclusively L
the federal government. No separat'
state government had the slightes
Jurisdiction upon one foot Of the sol
Of that vast domain. The publi'
lands were surveyed by officers Of th'
federal government, and title
TO them were conveyed by tn,
federal government In its char
acter of private proprietor
as we'll as Of public sovereign
The population who settled these ter
ritories had no political rights say,
those impaired 10 them by the fedora
government. Their very Limited
powers of self-government yer en-